CORRECTION APPENDED

No one can accuse Nathan J. Dern ’07 and Alan D. “Scooter” Zackheim ’06 of trying to fit in with the cool kids.

The two are contestants on the upcoming season of “Beauty and the Geek,” the reality show created by Punk’d producers Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, which premieres Jan. 3 on the CW television network.

In the show’s third season, “geeks” Dern and Zackheim are each paired with a “beauty” to form two out of the eight teams that compete in a slew of challenges testing their social and intellectual skills.

Billed as “reality television’s latest social experiment,” the show will reward $250,000 to the couple that most effectively pools their brains and social grace. The beauties will be asked to perform intellectually rigorous tasks while the geeks are challenged to come out of their shells—one challenge, said Dern, was a stand-up comedy routine.

Dern, who is paired on the show with a 27-year-old bikini model from California, said the show’s staff approached him last year while he was handing out fliers for his campus improvisation group, the Immediate Gratification Players (IGP).

“I was very amused by the novelty of it at first,” said Dern, who took them up on their invitation to audition.

Zackheim, who is paired with a “Playboy cybergirl” from Florida, said he decided to audition upon the urging of a friend.

“He was like, ‘I’m not geeky enough, no way,’” said Bonnie-Kathleen Discepolo, who talked Zackheim into auditioning. “I was like, ‘You’re totally geeky enough!’”

“We definitely hit up Ivy League schools,” said Allison B. Kaz, casting producer for the show.

In addition to Ivy League schools, casting staff also scouted museums and comic book conventions.

“You go where smart people hang out,” executive producer J. D. Roth said.

After completing initial tryouts through open calls or audition tapes, show hopefuls were weeded out through several rounds of interviews.

“We’re looking for people who can express in words the awkward moments they feel around women,” Kaz said, “guys who are incredibly intellectual and have their own style.”

“I definitely am very geeky in many of my qualities,” said Zackheim, who, when asked about the definition of “geek,” referenced its lesser-known definition from the Oxford English Dictionary: a circus performer.

At Harvard, Zackheim participated in theater and was a member of the Signet Society, which he likens to a “cooler final club.”

Currently employed as a receptionist for Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Zackheim says he enjoys math puzzles, brain teasers, and the European conquest game “Diplomacy.”

“When you think of Harvard, you think of guys like Scooter,” said Roth, who also calls Zackheim “very good-looking.”

Kaz agreed, saying that from the beginning she knew that with a makeover, “he would be incredible.”

Zackheim said his only regret about “Beauty and the Geek” was missing his Harvard graduation and his five-year high school reunion. “The point of the show is to take you out of your element,” he said. “I learned a lot.”

Dern is the creator of dozens of Facebook groups bearing his name and pictures of himself. “I liked the idea...to try to be silly, maybe bring a smile to someone.”

“You can see Nate across campus because of the outfits he wears,” Roth said.

Dern pointed to his experience doing stand-up comedy during the taping as something he has taken from the show. This fall, he has participated in several comedy shows, and he said it is something he is interested in pursuing.

Dern added that he is comfortable with his geeky side.

“I was never in the cool crowd. In high school, I embraced that outsiderness,” he said.

At Harvard, Dern’s geekiness manifests itself through his participation in a rock Star Wars tribute band called “So Long Princess.”

“We try to bring a little bit of rock and dancing to Harvard,” he said.

Asked about his favorite Star Wars character, Dern acknowledged Han Solo’s coolness but added, “I personally identify with Chewbacca.... He’s just sort of misunderstood. I think he’s really eloquent but I think he just can’t articulate himself.”

The series finished taping in July, but neither Dern nor Zackheim are permitted to divulge the outcome of the show.

CORRECTION: The print and original online versions of this story incorrectly stated the name of the Instant Gratification Players (IGP).